Current surgical procedures often require a great deal of skill from the surgeon to properly perform the procedure. The procedures may include making fine manipulations by hand using high-speed equipment. One example includes preparing end plates of adjacent vertebrae to receive a graft or inter-body fusion device. Each of the surfaces are prepared in the adjacent end plates using a high-speed burr or other cutting instrument that is held and manipulated by the surgeon. It is difficult for the surgeon to create consistent surfaces on the end plates using a hand-held instrument. The tactile and visual feedback received from the surgeon may further be more difficult because the surgeon is operating in a very small space.
Current surgical procedures may also be time consuming. It may be difficult for the surgeon to determine the amount of preparation required for each of the opposing surfaces. A trial-and-error routine is performed as the surgeon removes a first amount of material from one or both surfaces and determines whether the spacing is adequate for receiving the interbody device. If the spacing is not adequate, the surgeon removes an additional amount from one or both of the surfaces. This routine continues until the proper amount has been removed and the surfaces are adequately prepared. The surgeon is careful not to remove too much from either surface, and instead tends to remove small increments each time. It would be advantageous if the surgeon had a manner of more accurately determining the amount of material to be removed from one or both surfaces, such that the trial-and-error routine could be reduced, or eliminated.
Many surgical devices in use today are sized for a particular application. These devices have limited utility because there is no manner of adjusting the size to fit the particular application.
The present invention is directed to an adjustable guide for treating two vertebral members. The guide includes a first section having a first edge and a second section having a second edge. At least one of the sections is movable to adjust the distance between the first edge and the second edge. When properly aligned, the first edge is aligned relative to the first vertebral member and the second edge is aligned relative to the second vertebral member.
In one embodiment, one or more elongated rods extend through the first and second sections. One or both of the sections is movable along the elongated rods to adjust the distance between the first section and the second section.
The guide may further include a locking mechanism for preventing the first section from moving relative to the second section. A number of different locking mechanisms may be used to prevent any change in the distance between the two sections.
The guide may also include spacers that extend outward from the guide for inserting between the vertebral members. The spacers may extend outward from one or both of the sections depending upon the application of the guide. The spacers may also be positioned at a variety of locations along the guide, provided there is no interference with the first and second edges.